Article on kidnappings

[DML]

Any thoughts on this from those of you hear? Anything like this happening in our city or state?

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/03/...r-upworthy

[philyrossy]

Yes, happening in the State, in Leon, that I am directly aware of by the relatives of my wife. Has been much more intense in the last 12-18 months. The threat of kidnapping/extortion has people becoming very careful (much more so than usual). Before we left Chapala, a NOB friend of mine paid 5000 pesos extortion, but said he would not pay again (he would leave Mexico if it happened to him again). He actually knew the extortionist, but his word against the local business owner and the revenge factor kept him silent. :(
We can't speak for the Capital City, but that in itself, leaves lots of room for this to transpire. Sadly, you pay or you leave the area, there are no other choices available if you value your life, your family and your possessions. :(

[The Duck]

It is not a new problem and it has its 'elements'*

There is an active national campaign about this and the govt suggests Hanging Up when one gets such a call. This PGR-QRO website ¿ Qué hacer en caso de
Extorsión Telefónica ? is an interesting read. [There is also a similar GTO site but it is harder to read and direct links to it do not work]

*The one personal experience I have had in my score of years here: A friend's mother-in-law received a call from the 'Aduana' at BJX. Her son [who lives in Chicgao] had arrived and it was discovered that he had more than $US10k in cash in possesion. She was told "while not a crime it had to be declared" One of the lady's daughters was an attorney, another was an assistant to the then mayor of GTO. The entire family was freaking out and doing one thing in common: not thinking. They had not been expecting the Chicago relative to be arriving at all. No one called him. The family just went to the bank and made a deposit of 25,000MN to the "Aduana" account so the son could be freed. When he was finally contacted some hours later he was at work in Chicago not on the tarmac at BJX. The 25,000MN of course was gone.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Marti kidnapping/murder

[peddler665]

Anybody kidnapping me would be sadly disappointed with the results.

[philyrossy]

Simple things like: (1) not answering the phone if you don't know who is calling, (2) never open your door until you are absolutely sure the person there is someone you want to speak with face to face, (3) being aware of your surroundings, and (4)not venture where you shouldn't, take care of a lot of possibilities.

[doncoulter]

This has been going on for a long time. Five or six years ago, I got a phone call from a man who said: "I'm with the Zetas. Do you know who we are?" Disbelieving him, I replied in my most bored voice, "Yeah, I know who you are." I don't remember what he said next, but I promptly hung up on him. Nothing ever happened as a result. He never even called back.

One precaution you might like to take, if you have a gabacho last name, is to call Telmex and make your phone number unlisted.

[philyrossy]

Hey, Don, that does happen a lot, although I think it best not to say a word. I can give you an example where that happened to a lady, and within an hour, a finger of her child was delivered to the lady. Luck of the draw, no? :(

[roberb7]

Another recent article on this subject: http://mexfiles.net/2014/03/31/hold-calls/

[philyrossy]

IMHO, if you are going to live in Mexico, you need to be aware of things that are happening currently, make your preparations, and go about your life, under the cautions you set up for yourself and your family. You do not need to worry, but you need to live your life. If you can't and are in fear all the time, you need to move to a place that can remove the fear from your life. Every place offers good and bad, you must balance things. Good luck.

[colleen]

A little bit off point. Not a kidnapping, but a scam. A friend from WI who spends every March in Gto got an email from Sr. Gene Byron stating that he was somewhere in Europe and had his bags stolen and needed her to transfer $ to his account to help him out. Pretty funny.